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Very Veggie Pesach 2019: Kiwi, Quinoa and Ricotta





I had been looking for a recipe using kiwi fruit that would be good for Passover, but most of the recipes I found were more in the nature of salads and had little or no protein. The recipe this is based on originally used apples, but I really wanted to use kiwi and it was DELICIOUS!!! If you don't like kiwi or don't have access to it, you can always substitute chopped apples. For those who don't know: it's pronounced KEE-wee and KEEN-wah.

 
The really wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's quick, easy, and all the parts are assembled separately. If you don't finish it all the first day, you can store the ricotta and other parts separately for overnight refrigeration. Then you can reheat the other parts without destroying the ricotta and put the ricotta back on afterwards. Do you have a vegan coming for dinner? Skip the ricotta. Is someone allergic to nuts? Skip the nuts. And because it's assembled separately, each person can skip the parts they don't want and keep the rest. Very convenient!

This recipe is gluten free and non-gebrochts. It can be made vegan by skipping the ricotta and will still have plenty of protein and flavor!

Let's get started!

Ingredients
  • 4 kiwi fruits, peeled (if you like), sliced and the slices quartered (make sure you don't use kiwis that are too soft if you want to peel!)
  • 2 tablespoons butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or other available nuts

Kashrut Notes
  • Fresh fruits are always kosher for Passover! This covers the kiwi.
  • Butter requires Passover certification. Breakstone's salted and unsalted butter are commonly available in stores marked Kosher for Passover at this time of year. If you want to substitute vegetable oil to make this vegan, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is commonly available certified for Passover all year round, and Star-K's Passover Guide says that many brands they certify do
    not require a P, most notably the widely available Pompeian. Be aware that many other vegetable oils are made from kitniyot vegetables and are not suitable for Passover.
  • Honey requires Passover certification because some honey is mixed with
    corn syrup (kitniyot, not for Passover). Some widely-available honeys have OU-P supervision, such as Sue Bee, Wegmans and Kirkland (the Costco brand). Make sure the
    honey has a P after the OU logo!
  • Cottage cheese requires kosher for Passover certification. have seen Breakstone's cottage cheese in stores with kosher for Passover certification, though it doesn't seem to be in all
    stores. Look for the words "Kosher for Passover" on the cellophane around the lid.
  • Ground spices require Passover certification because of anti-caking agents and the risk of cross-contamination or dilution with not-for-Passover ingredients. Cinnamon can be hard to find because it is such a popular spice it sells out quickly. If you can't find it, you can skip the cinnamon.
  • Most major kosher certification organizations now accept quinoa as permitted for Passover (they didn't always). But now they are requiring Passover certification for it! They used to allow Ancient Grains with the standard Star-K certification. This can make KFP quinoa hard to find so you may want to talk to your rabbi about it.
  • Nuts require Passover certification. They are normally packaged with preservatives suspended in corn oil, a kitniyot oil. If you can't find them locally, online vendor Oh! Nuts has a nice selection. I often have a hard time finding certified chopped nuts so I bought myself a little chopper at Bed, Bath and Beyond and buy whole nuts.

Preparation
  • Cook the quinoa according to package directions
  • While the quinoa is cooking, melt the butter and saute the kiwi in it until it softens up nicely, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the honey toward the end of the saute.
That's it! You're done! Now all you have to do is assemble the pieces: a scoop of quinoa into a bowl, a scoop of ricotta on top of that, a scoop of kiwi on top of that, and sprinkle some chopped nuts on top! Repeat for each person.

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